In the last 19 months, France has been the stage for three major terrorist attacks. The Charlie Hebdo/Kosher Market in January 2015, the Bataclan in November 2015 and now the Bastille Day rampage on July 14, 2016. More than 230 innocent people lost their lives at the hands of bloody murderers who all appear to have Islamic connections and/or ISIS affiliations or sympathies. I mourn for France and with France, remembering the families of all the victims. I also remember French Prime Minister Manuel Valls’ speech days after the three January attacks. It was passionate, firm and gave hope to the French people. It was exactly the sort of leadership that was needed at the time. Then came the November attacks around Paris. France was in shock for the second time and it appeared as if all that had been put in place or at least discussed, amounted to nothing.
France started to lose hope and extreme-right populist party, Front National, became more vocal about their concern for the country. President Hollande and Manuel Valls’ popularity started to plummet. Not much had been done except placing a few police officers here and a another few soldiers there. The French were no longer feeling safe and rightfully so! One of the responses to ISIS massacres on French soil was to bomb some of their strategic facilities, something that I agree needed and continues to need to be done.

France’s response to ISIS outside of French territory has been bold and somewhat successful on the ground in the Middle East. ISIS has been affected, so they decided to change their approach to terror. Same drive: Islamism, same method: bloody terror but different expressions of that terror. We could call it “disposable terror.” Use it once for maximum damage and then dispose of it and prepare for your next attack using another completely unexpected approach. It is working and the world appears to be overwhelmed by terrorism, not knowing what’s coming next or how to respond, let alone prepare for it. Just days ago, Manuel Valls declared that France had to “learn to live with terrorism.” This and his lack of a clear plan to protect France caused him to be booed at a gathering in Nice to honor the July 14th victims. His statement is NOT appropriate unless France chooses to become a dhimmi state. France is obviously a favorite target for ISIS and its cohorts. Reasons can be given for that preference. France is very big on freedom and equality. France has been more involved in responding to ISIS on their turf with force. And of course, Muslims never forgot that Charles Martel defeated Islam’s invasion of France in Poitiers in 732. So there is bad blood between France and radical Islam. Terrorism will continue on French soil.

It used to be that the highest challenge with terrorism was that nobody knew where or when it would hit next. This was already a tremendous challenge to keep up with. This continues to be the case except that now we can add method to location and timing. In other words, we don’t know where or when terrorism will occur but we also don’t know how. This makes for a very volatile recipe. France is not alone in this predicament. The whole world is a potential victim of Apocalyptic Islam. Europe is obviously struggling with its own migrant crisis, and the Summer months will inevitably usher many more emigrants to the region. Loose borders allow for many migrants to move about freely between European countries, and we have already seen terrorists come out of the migrant human flow, where they hid until the opportune time. They were all Muslims. There is an unavoidable connection between Islam and terrorism and this has nothing to do with racism since Islam isn’t a race but an ideology. Obviously, not all Muslims are terrorists, but so far, all terrorists have been Muslims. Nobody speaks of Christian terrorism, Jewish terrorism, Buddhist terrorism, Hindu terrorism…etc.

For reasons that escape me, very few “moderate” Muslims speak up against radical Islam. Is it fear, indifference, allegiance? nobody really knows. In the meantime, Islam continues to push the envelop and France continues to make way for new laws in favor of Islamic culture.

I am not against teaching Arabic in French universities but I don’t agree that it needs to be done so early in Middle schoool. Many fear that it will be at the expense of basic French that many students also struggle with. But it goes deeper than just adding one more foreign language. Najat Vallaud-Belkacem also added that if there are no teachers to currently teach Arabic in French schools, she will work hard to bring “outsiders” as she called them. If I lived in France and had my young children in schools, I would be worried about “outsiders” coming to teach Arabic. Especially at a time when France needs reassurance that its citizens are safe. She did mention that all of it will be done by choice from the parents.

I believe that this is going to open the door to more Islamic influence in French schools at an earlier age. Jewish kids have already been leaving the French public school system in large numbers. Seeing how Islam has pushed its way into French culture, government and education and has not integrated or assimilated, adding Arabic as an elective in Middle school is not a good idea. It actually looks more like appeasement than anything else. The question is “How long will it remain an elective?” After all, If France has to “learn to live with terrorism”, Arabic might come in handy!

On Monday April 18, 2016, a bus exploded in south Jerusalem, making it the first major explosion of that type since the Second Intifada. The exact details of the explosion and its connection to a terrorist act were unclear at first but all seems to indicate that there was a terrorist involved in the explosion. Twenty-one people were injured in the process. This comes at a time when the street stabbings that have plagued Israel for a few months had started to die down. This newest act of terrorism was welcomed with cheers from many Palestinians on the streets. The first official cheering came from Hamas, encouraging their people to keep fighting in their struggle to liberate “Palestine.” Of course, you would be hard pressed to find any denouncing of the Palestinian jubilation from the United Nations. Imagine for a moment that Israel would be the one celebrating the death of Palestinians. The Palestinian authority would cry to the world and the media would feed on that opportunity for days if not weeks, finding enough evidence to validate their hatred of the Jewish state. As a matter of fact, if and when (and those are very isolated cases), an Israeli unjustly kills a Palestinian, they get prosecuted by Israel’s justice system as in the “Ben David” case of 2014(or here.)

How can Palestinian leaders look at the west with a straight face and claim that they seek peace with Israel? They put absolutely no value on human life, and that goes for Jewish lives as well as Palestinian lives who have been repeatedly used as human shields and homicide bombers.

Around the same time, the world was shaken by a serious earthquake claiming over 410 lives in Ecuador and injuring over 2,500 people. Ecuador is still scrambling to unearth and identify more bodies. Additionally, Japan was also hit by a 7.3 earthquake just a few days prior to Ecuador. Forty-four people died and over a thousand were injured, not to mention the tremendous tolls on both economies and the tens of thousands of people left without homes and/or basic resources.

While earthquakes are acts of nature (or acts of God depending on your belief system), they leave much damage requiring weeks or months of search, rescue and reconstruction. This is where the rest of the civilized world usually pulls their resources and either send supplies or personnel to assist. Israel is often one of the early responders sending help wherever it is needed.

Once again, Israel has sent help to both Japan and Ecuador almost immediately. Let’s face it, due to its constant state of alert since 1948, Israel has become one of the best equipped countries in the world when it comes to crisis management and emergency response. Apparently, Israel still has people in Japan from the time they send aid after the 2011 tsunami. In the meantime, much of the world including the United Nations join hands to accuse Israel of crimes against humanity and human rights violations. It is surprising that Israel would even want to extend a hand to anybody when in return, all they receive is much criticism for being an “apartheid state” or an “occupier.”

The difference lies in the fact that Israel values life. They value Israeli lives, lives from Ecuador, Japan and even Palestinian lives. Life in Israel isn’t easy. There is always a sense that something could happen at any moment, anywhere and against anyone. This is Israel’s reality, yet they would rather see how they can make the world a better place by providing a helping hand to those in need.

Where was the Palestinian team in Ecuador, Japan, Haiti or any other area of the world where humanitarian aid was needed? Nowhere! And by the way, if you cannot send supplies because you do not have the means to do so, you can always send doctors and nurses, construction workers, electricians, plumbers or even volunteers. This would go a long way towards showing the good will of the Palestinians and their desire to become key players on the world scene, as well as help them to militate for peace. Unfortunately, many of them were too busy celebrating the bus bombing and passing out candy on the streets to even consider helping in any other humanitarian crisis.

I am still waiting to see any Palestinian relief workers be sent anywhere in the world. I don’t expect Palestinians to go out of their way to help Israeli in a crisis situation (although it is always possible), but I expect Palestinians of good will to reach out to the world community and give a helping hand. Where are they?

On March 7-10, 2016, the fourth “Christ at the Checkpoint (CatC) Conference will take place in Bethlehem. The 2016 theme will be, “THE GOSPEL IN THE FACE OF RELIGIOUS EXTREMISM.” From their own website, they give the world their mission that is: “ The mission of “Christ at the Checkpoint” is to challenge Evangelicals to take responsibility to help resolve the conflicts in Israel/Palestine by engaging with the teaching of Jesus on the Kingdom of God.”

This sounds really commendable at a time when the whole Middle East seems to be sitting on a powder keg with a very short fuse. Biblically speaking, anything done in the name of Yeshua and following His teaching should lead to peace and turning the other cheek. Furthermore, the leadership of CatC claims that, “The conference will bring Palestinian and international Evangelical leaders, to study and explore the rise of religious extremism within Christianity, Judaism, and Islam and how this impacts the Israel/Palestine conflict. We will also explore what the Bible has to say about religious extremism in any form. Together, we will seek a Biblical response to religious extremism, and find ways that provide an alternative through living out the kingdom of God. “

Their mission appears to deal with any form of extremism within Christianity, Judaism and Islam. In and of itself, this year’s conference seems balanced and very informative, but the problem is that CatC conferences build every two years on the work accomplished by the previous conference(s), and as such, CatC has gained a reputation that increasingly lacks ethical stability. The first three conferences were all advertised under the banner of “reconciliation” but at the end of the day, each one resembled more a witch hunt against Israel than a dialogue to find a healthy compromise. Unfortunately, many evangelicals are blinded by Palestinian victimhood rhetoric.

Much could be gleaned from the CatC Manifesto, for which I wrote a review in 2012. Back then I recognized that it included some truths, half-truths and lies, all mixed. So I looked at each of the 12 articles carefully. It is well worth reviewing again.

1. The Kingdom of God has come. Evangelicals must reclaim the prophetic role in bringing peace, justice and reconciliation in Palestine and Israel.DISAGREED: Kingdom Now Theology claims among other things, that Yeshua’s Kingdom was inaugurated at His first coming while Scripture states that He will reign as Messianic King on the throne of David from Jerusalem in a yet to come Millennial Messianic Kingdom (Psalm 72:8, 11, 17; Isaiah 9:7, 11:6-11; Jeremiah 23:6, Zechariah 3:10).

3. Racial ethnicity alone does not guarantee the benefits of the Abrahamic Covenant.DISAGREED: The benefits of the Abrahamic Covenant are multi-faceted. They include God’s promises to both the Jewish people and the nations (non-Jews) through Abraham, yet the physical land is ONLY promised to the Jewish people, ethnic descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Genesis 12:1-3, 7; 13:15;17:7-8, 19; 25:5-6; 26:3; 28:3-4; 35:9-15.)

4. The Church in the land of the Holy One, has born witness to Christ since the days of Pentecost. It must be empowered to continue to be light and salt in the region, if there is to be hope in the midst of conflict.AGREED: Yeshua’s last command to His disciples was to make disciples of ALL NATIONS (Matthew 28:18-20; Luke 24:47)

5. Any exclusive claim to land of the Bible in the name of God is not in line with the teaching of Scripture.DISAGREED: The land of Israel belongs to God Himself (Leviticus 25:23). He chose to make a covenant with Abraham that would include that piece of land as an eternal AND unconditional part of that covenant. Additionally, God’s gifts are irrevocable (Romans 11:29).

6. All forms of violence must be refuted unequivocally.AGREED: Yeshua always taught peace between His followers and unbelievers as much as possible, making Christianity a most unique faith were disciples of Messiah must EVEN love their enemies (Matthew 5:39-48; Luke 6:27-35, Romans 12:17-21.) The participation of a Hamas sympathizer at the 2016 conference is directly opposed to the statement made in article 6.

7. Palestinian Christians must not lose the capacity to self-criticism if they wish to remain prophetic.AGREED: In any conflict, ALL parties must be willing to recognize fault and prepared to adjust accordingly. (Proverbs 18:12; Ephesians 4:2; Philippians 2:3; Colossians 3:1-17.)

8. There are real injustices taking place in the Palestinian territories and the suffering of the Palestinian people can no longer be ignored. Any solution must respect the equity and rights of Israel and Palestinian communities.PARTIALLY AGREED AND DISAGREED: While mutual respect of human beings as being made in God’s image is at the core of peace and reconciliation, what is meant by “injustices in the Palestinian territories” remains to be defined. (Genesis 1:27; 5:1; 9:6; 1 Corinthians 11:7; Ephesians 4:24.) The further we advance in history, the more accepted the Palestinian narrative becomes. Unfortunately, it is not founded on historical facts but purely fabricated. Please don’t take my word for it, take the time to study the facts!

9. For Palestinian Christians, the occupation is the core issue of the conflict.PARTIALLY AGREED AND DISAGREED: While nobody enjoys living in a land that they feel is theirs and yet is occupied by a foreign people group, it remains to be proven biblically that Jewish people are the occupiers. All previous Scriptures cited about the land lead to an opposite view (See verses under points 3 and 5).

10. Any challenge of the injustices taking place in the Holy Land must be done in Christian love. Criticism of Israel and the occupation cannot be confused with anti-Semitism and the delegitimization of the State of Israel.AGREED: While it is possible to disagree with Israeli policies, much of what has been labeled as anti-Israelism or even anti-Zionism has really been antisemitism in disguise. Genuine Christian love is at the core of any reconciliation and is irrespective of color or race. (2 Corinthians 5:14; Ephesians 3:19; Colossians 3:14). CatC continues to invite a plethora of speakers who are very good at pointing the finger at Israel “the occupier” and “apartheid state”, but rarely do they speak of radical Islam, terrorism and/or antisemitism.

11. Respectful dialogue between Palestinian and Messianic believers must continue. Though we may disagree on secondary matters of theology, the Gospel of Jesus and his ethical teaching take precedence.PARTIALLY AGREED AND DISAGREED: Respectful dialogue means that both sides must be heard and both sides must listen. Agreeing on the Gospel of Yeshua doesn’t negate God’s covenants with the Jewish people (Romans 1:16; 9-11.) Even the recent “Larnaca Document” signed in Cyprus between Palestinian Christians and Messianic believers sounds more like a trap than a true breakthrough. For instance, in their article 2.2, both parties agree to disagree on what constitutes lethal violence. Seriously? So Israel’s counter-terrorism actions against Hamas should be seen as one version of “lethal violence” on equal footing with Hamas bloody terrorism?

12. Christians must understand the global context for the rise of extremist Islam. We challenge stereotyping of all faith forms that betray God’s commandment to love our neighbors and enemies.AGREED: While again I find the statement misleading as it could be taken to mean that there is a justification for radical Islam’s violence, I agree that Christian love is always to be the foundation of any lasting peace and reconciliation (See verses under points 6).

So this year, more evangelicals are joining the CatC ranks. People like “Bible Answer Man” Hank Hanegraaff. I used to listen to Mr. Hanegraaff when I was a young believer, what a disgraceful theological shift. One wonders if he is he still using the same Bible since he is not seeing Israel in the plan of God anymore? But there are so many other people that are taking center stage at CatC 2016 in the name of Christian love and reconciliation and yet, they clearly show bias against Israel and in some cases hatred.

So forgive me for not getting too hopeful about the fourth iteration of “Christ at the Checkpoint.” I think that it is progressively getting worse. How can we possibly speak of Christian love, justice and reconciliation with such a line-up of hypocrites at best and antisemites at worst?

Instead of watching the conference online and be indoctrinated by a false narrative, you would better spend your time watching a series of videos directed by my dear friend Perry Trotter from New Zealand. The site is Evangelical Zionism and it divides into seven videos for a total of 45 minutes very well spent. I really wish that the speakers and attendees of CatC 2016 would spend that 45 minutes watching these videos, then I would be hopeful that we possibly could have a balanced dialogue. Unfortunately, I think that CatC has now gone too far. Sadly, many evangelicals do not see it that way!

On January 7, 2016, The U.S. Department of State issued a statement in which Secretary of State John Kerry wanted to recognize the victims of the Paris attacks of January 7, 8, 9, 2015. The statement was short and read as follows: “On the one-year anniversary of the January 7-9, 2015, attacks that took the lives of 17 people, we honor the victims of this tragedy and share the sadness of their loss. Their legacy endures as a challenge and inspiration to all of us. Charlie Hebdo continues to publish, and journalists around the world continue in their essential mission to tell the stories that people everywhere need to hear. No country knows better than France that freedom has a price, and that no rationale can justify attacks on innocent men, women, and children. But what was intended to sow fear and division has, in fact, brought us together. We must remain committed to protect each other and renew our determination to turn this moment of profound loss into a lasting commitment. Just as we tackle today’s most daunting challenges side by side, the United States and France will always stand together.”

At first glance, the statement appeared to be remembering the victims of the Paris triple terrorist attack that took place, and that’s commendable. But something is profoundly wrong with that statement, not so much in what it says but in what it failed to mention. This was a case when silence spoke louder than words!

Mr. Kerry is mentioning the 17 victims and how their tragic death united France and the United States, and continues to do so in our on-going fight against terrorism. But why is Mr. Kerry only mentioning the Charlie Hebdo magazine? The 17 victims were made of 3 groups: 12 victims from Charlie Hebdo, one police officer on the street and four Jewish shoppers at a kosher supermarket. There is no mention of the police officer or the four Jewish victims. The whole tragedy is bundled under the Charlie Hebdo massacre. It is not my intention to belittle the magazine’s 12 deaths or the police officer’s death, but the attack was more than an attack against freedom of the press. It was also an attack against freedom of religion.

I have no doubt that if the terror attack of January 2015 in Paris had only been against the four Jewish shoppers, there would have not been a 4 million people march in France the following week-end. Similarly, outside of the French Jewish community, the Toulouse attack of 2012 by Mohammed Merah is mostly forgotten, yet it took the life of 7 people, including a rabbi and 3 Jewish day school children.

In the recent statement by John Kerry, I don’t believe that not making reference to the Jewish victims was an oversight. He, along with the vast majority of the current U.S. administration are no friends of Israel and the Jewish people. It would have gone a long way if the Jewish victims had been acknowledged along with the police officer and the magazine. Instead, a blanket statement was made, only connecting the event to the magazine.

After all, it was President Obama who right after the attack, described the Jewish victims shopping at the kosher supermarket a few hours before Shabbat as” a bunch of folks in a deli in Paris” who had been “randomly shot.” This is either a lack of sensitivity or a severe disconnect with reality. There is no doubt in everybody’s mind that the terrorist Amédy Coulibally picked the Hypercacher store on purpose. It was a Jewish store where Jewish people shopped for kosher food, especially on Friday afternoons before the Sabbath.

So for John Kerry not to mention the Jewish victim is a diplomatic faux pas at best and antisemitism by omission at worst. It would have been easy to say “12 members of the Charlie Hebdo staff, one police officer in the line of duty and four Jewish people shopping in a kosher Market.”

The world is used to antisemitism by commission when Jewish people are ostracized, demonized, persecuted and even murdered. This is a form of hatred that can be measured in a tangible way. A stabbed person, a defaced Jewish tombstone or a burned synagogue door are all visual witnesses of antisemitism by commission.

But when the Jewish people are categorized as regular folks after an antisemitism attack, re-labelled or totally ignored when they should be remembered as victims, it is antisemitism by omission. Most people already don’t care much about the devastation brought in by antisemitism by commission. They certainly will not pick-up on the subtle approach of antisemitism by omission.

Too bad Mr. Kerry. You had a simple opportunity to not only align the USA with France in the fight against terror but also reach out to the French Jewish community at a time when they don’t feel much friendship from most of the world. By generalizing your statement, you ignored the French Jewish victims and offended them. I wonder…. was there any other group you cared not to offend by leaving the Jews out of your statement?

Within a week of the start of 2015, terrorism hit France in what became the worst terror attack in decades, claiming 17 lives. Eleven month later, in some sort of an erie xenophobic bookend, France was hit again, this time losing 130 innocent people. As I see the fabric of our global village changing daily, especially with the recent migrant crisis in Europe, I am greatly concerned with the fate of my people and of Israel. 2015 was packed with events, incidents and tragedies affecting Jewish people globally, yet, for the most part, the world kept going, trying to convince us that global warming is our biggest enemy. Of course, if by global warming you mean a nuclear meltdown instigated by Iran, then I guess IT IS our biggest problem! But there is much more. Let us take a quick look at antisemitism in 2015.

JANUARY: Will the Paris March Against Terror only be a Historic Day?After three horrific days of unprecedented terror in Paris resulting in the death of 17 innocent victims, the City of Lights was the center of a historic event on Sunday, January 11, 2015. A solidarity march was organized by the French government, hoping to rally its citizens under the banner of unity and freedom of expression. What took place on that Sunday made history with 4,000,000 all over France and 2,000,000 in Paris alone. About 50 heads of state were present at the march. America also made history on that Sunday as President Obama’s absence was an embarrassment and a message in and of itself. French Prime minister Manuel Valls said: “France without its Jews isn’t France anymore”. I agree with him, even though I am not sure that he fully grasps the meaning of his statement. No matter what follows, Sunday January 11, 2015 will always be remembered as the Paris march against terror. On that Sunday, France led the free world in showing us how to stand up against the cancer of extremism, but we all know that diagnosing cancer is pointless if you don’t aggressively attack the disease. Tomorrow will tell!

FEBRUARY:Eschatological Anti-Semitism is Here and the Clock is Ticking!While Jews around the world have been able to preserve their identity through the ages, they have not been so successful in escaping the re-birth of antisemitism. As a matter of fact, I believe that we live in an age where the recent New antisemitism is merging with classic antisemitism giving birth to a new hybrid hatred of the Jews that I call “Eschatological antisemitism.” By this I mean that the already loathsome and pervasive hatred of the Jews that we have witnessed through the centuries has now joined forces with post-modern antisemitism and anti-Zionism. The goal being the final blow on God’s chosen people. This is the final chapter in Satan’s book of hatred against the Jews. It was evident in France, where last February, Paris witnessed a street protest of about 20,000 people that would make both Hitler and Ahmadinejad very proud. In an interesting turn of events, the march that was originally labeled as “Day of anger against Hollande” turned into a march against French Jews where people did the Nazi salute and chanted slogans such as: “Jews, get out, France is not for you!” Eschatological antisemitism shouldn’t surprise any serious student of the Bible, but it should compel us to reach out to our Jewish friends with Yeshua as the final chapter of human history is being written.

MARCH: Fear not American Jews, our government is “disappointed” at antisemitism!In March, President Obama was on his way to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia where he met with the Saudi King. Prior to his Riyadh visit, Mr. Obama received requests from numerous non-governmental agencies as well as a bi-partisan group from Congress to confront Saudi Arabia about their ongoing human rights violations. But, the boldness required to confront the Saudis about their treatment of women, activists, religious minorities and Jews is something that simply doesn’t seem to exist within the current administration. Incidentally, Jerusalem Post Washington Bureau Chief, Michael Wilner originally planned to join Mr. Obama and staff. But Michael Wilner was denied a visa to the gulf country. He is the only journalist who was denied entry to Saudi Arabia on this upcoming trip. Mr Wilner is Jewish, not Israeli Jewish, simply a Jew who lives in America and reports for the Jerusalem Post. What greatly concerned me was the US administration’s reaction to the banning of Mr. Wilner’s entry into Saudi territory. They are not disgusted, outraged, or even highly offended. They simply are “deeply disappointed” as was stated: “We are deeply disappointed that this credible journalist was denied a visa, we will continue to register our serious concerns about this unfortunate decision.” The US administration’s decision to make such a weak statement certainly sent a clear message.

APRIL: Appeasement is a Weakness Leading to Collaboration!Western civilization is now on a new threshold as world leaders met in Switzerland regarding Iran’s nuclear deal. The apparent progress made in April warranted that the dialogue would continue. One of the big issues that Iran has is with sanctions imposed on them. Their economy has suffered greatly in the last few years, and they demand that sanctions be lifted in a way that would also prevent them from being reinstated automatically. It is obvious that they are politically and ideologically very unstable. That fact was clearly delineated in a speech to Congress on March 3rd when Netanyahu risked his whole career, two weeks prior to the Israeli elections. His plea wasn’t for the safety of Israel but for the survival of Western civilization. The White House felt that this was the last straw that justified what could one day be remembered as “The Great Diplomatic Divorce” of the 21st Century. Never before had an American president showed so much contempt for Israel and its current Prime minister. Mr. Obama is trying to convince the world that Iran not only can be included to the negotiating table, but that they can also be trusted. So much so that it could be argued that Mr. Obama is no longer simply appeasing Iran but he is now collaborating with Iran. Let’s pray that the current “Appeaser-In-Chief” doesn’t turn into a “Collaborator-In-Chief”

MAY: BDS really stands for Bullying, Delegitimizing and Slandering!Many people have never heard of BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions). This movement has picked up a lot of momentum in the past few months and has become quite pervasive. It was borne out of a Palestinian desire to enroll otherwise unengaged and apathetic people in their fight against Israel. The Palestinian Authority and Hamas’ goal might be the total destruction of Israel, at the end of the day you can only bomb and kill so many people before the more reasonable people in the world turn on you. But what if you could get support from a different angle, this would greatly help your cause, wouldn’t it? BDS does just that and it does it well, in the government, the universities (here and here) and even some Christian denominations such as PC USA (the same PC USA that unsuccessfully tried to blot out “Israel” from their prayer and hymn books in 2014). BDS is most rampant on US university campuses. As a matter of fact BDS is the main weapon used on US campuses to delegitimize Zionism and demonize Israel. Anti-Israel proponents are organized, eloquent and very resourceful. BDS relies on the Bullying, Delegitimizing and Slandering of Israel and does it on a foundation of lies that can be debunked.

JUNE: Western Civilization’s Assisted Suicide!I have watched the erosion of Judeo/Christian values over the last two decades with much sadness at first. I have great concern and even fear for the increasingly decaying state of the West. There is no doubt in my mind that western civilization is slowly committing assisted suicide. End-Times antisemitism is in full force across the globe, swinging it’s lethal pendulum from liberal Left to neo-Nazi extreme right. Somewhere on the edges we can spot the agnostics, secularists, atheists and universalists, along with radical Islam smack in the middle. While the pendulum swings destructively and endlessly from one extreme to the next, I believe that the bulk of the damage is performed by the center part. They have scared the West into unchallenged submission or “dhimmitude“ defined as “the Islamic system of governing populations conquered by jihad wars, encompassing all of the demographic, ethnic, and religious aspects of the political system.…. ruled by the same type of laws, based on the shari’a. Political correctness is one of the most viral enemies of America. It blinds people into one-sided tolerance and will lead to the death of Western civilization by assisted suicide!

JULY: Could the conspiracy of Psalm 83 against Israel involve ISIS?It was only fifteen years ago that I was conducting research for my first book on anti-Semitism They Have Conspired Against You.This led me to an in-depth study of the 83rd Psalm written by Asaph and I was intrigued by the ten people groups who were described as conspiring against Israel. In digging a little deeper, I realized that this covenant of nations had never taken place in the history of Israel. Asaph could very possibly be using a literary device to express emphasis in despair akin to someone with a few foes saying:”The whole world hates me!” An equally valid interpretation could be that it is a future attack on Israel by a confederation of countries and/or states. I find it fascinating to look at the people described in Psalm 83:6- and compare them to their respective modern equivalent countries. The results are too close for comfort. We can then list Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, Gaza, Iraq, Syria, the Sinai Peninsula among them. ISIS has infiltrated all the areas listed in Pslam 83, INCLUDING JORDAN AND EGYPT, the only two countries with existing peace treaties with Israel. The minute that ISIS crosses the line where Israel feels threatened, they [Israel] will respond swiftly and efficiently. No question about it. The prophetic hourglass was turned on May 14, 1948 and it is running out of sand in its top section!

AUGUST: As a Jew, I can support Palestine!Depending on which side of the Middle East fence you are on, Palestine and the Arab/Israeli conflict will vary greatly based on which definition you adhere to. Let us start with what we know from history and define a geographical Palestine. It is therefore critical to differentiate between the “Land of Palestine” as a geographical area and the “State of Palestine” as a political entity. Palestine is a piece of land in Eastern Asia between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, squeezed in a very strategic region between Syria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Iraq. The tide began to turn in 1929 during the Hebron Massacres and the Arab revolt of 1936-39. Around that time, it was still appropriate to speak of ” Palestinian Jews” and “Palestinian Arabs”. In 1948, Palestinian Jews became known as Israelis and Palestinian Arabs started to be called Palestinians as the narrative switched from geographical Palestine to “historic” Palestine. You can choose to call that land the Holy Land, Eretz Yisrael, Jewish Palestine or even Western Palestine as long as the name refers to a geographical area. From that angle, I support Palestine. The moment that it becomes a political entity with a fictitious displaced people, I draw the line! Geographical Palestine exists while historic Palestine never did. We might not be able to come-up with a viable solution any time soon, but this shouldn’t give us the liberty to ignore historical facts.

SEPTEMBER: Refugees, Migrants and Terrorists: Europe is out of Control!At the very time when global borders should be tightly monitored because of the ISIS invasion, Europe is faced with a tsunami of migrants. The guidelines of acceptance vary from one European country to the next. It goes from Germany having pledged to receive in excess of 800,000 refugees in 2015 alone to other countries building fences and walls to prevent anyone from entering illegally. The one thing that all these countries have in common is a lack of preparedness for such a tidal wave of people. We have already seen issues in the area of space needed, health and safety. Curiously enough, most Gulf States like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, the UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait that speak a similar language, have similarity in culture and religion have taken none. NONE! They do have the space, a similar ideology and are some of the richest countries in the world and they have taken none, WHY? Then we have those who choose to pose as Syrians to be granted asylum but enter a country with a different agenda. The last 18 months have shown us the damage inflicted by ISIS infiltration and recruitment. It is virtually impossible to detect a Syrian from a non-Syrian refugee, so how do various European governments expect to detect ISIS impostors? Many European countries already have a severe “native birthrate drought” and are seeing a demographic Muslim takeover. This blurred combination of stealth jihad, demographic jihad and radical apocalyptic jihad is a lethal cocktail that Europe doesn’t seem to be able to control!

OCTOBER: Terror in Israel: Lone Wolves are still Wolves!In October, Israel has reported almost 800 acts of terror. Much speculation arose in the media around the globe as to the possibility of a third Intifada slowly taking place. But if we compare the current events to those of the First Intifada of 1987-1991 and of the Second Intifada of 2000-2005, we are not seeing an out-of-control uprising of a large number of Palestinians. Yet it might end-up being more damaging than the previous two intifadas. If creativity prevails, we will see more attacks in ways that nobody could predict. This has become a logistical nightmare for Israel. No wonder the mayor of Jerusalem recently announced to its Jewish residents that if they had a valid carry license, they should never leave home without a firearm. The wolves attacking Israel might not come in packs and might be far from being well organized and structured, but they remain wolves with a ferocious appetite for Jewish lives. It is not about Jerusalem, it is not about the Temple Mount and it is not about the disputed territories. It is simply about the complete eradication of Israel and all Jews. I guess we could call it a “spontaneous Intifada.”

NOVEMBER: France’s Second Chance to lead the War against Apocalyptic Islam!On Friday November 13, 2015, France was hit by yet another series of terrorist attacks in Paris, claiming the lives of 130 innocent people in several locations practically simultaneously. I had just returned from my biannual ministry trip to France four days prior, on the 9th of November. On the 7th, my wife and I attended a concert in Paris in a place as frequented and as famous as the Bataclan. Almost everyday of our stay we ate meals at restaurants and bistros near the attacked venues. There was 130 victims, but it could have easily been us or it could have easily been you! France was devastated last January and had a chance to take action with the kind of authority and leadership that would have led the free world into an all out war against apocalyptic Islam. That ship has sailed! But now it returns as an armada and with a vengeance, because the Islamic State hates France and all that it represents. France is at a critical crossroads for the second time in one year. How many more terrorist attacks by ISIS will it take, in France or anywhere else, for us to take them seriously? Protect synagogues and Jewish schools and they attack a stadium, restaurants and a concert hall. Protect these venues and they will attack a movie theater, a mall or amusement park…and the list goes on! Too many innocent lives are destroyed by people who glorify death. This is France’s second chance to fight the war against Islamic terrorism and it might very well be Europe’s last chance!

So it has been another fruitful year for the demon of antisemitism as the world continues to be more self-absorbed and further blinded by the mirage of multiculturalism. Israel receives less and less support from government, academia, and even some of her long time friends in the evangelical churches. It seems as if the world has completely assimilated the Middle East Palestinian narrative as truth. With the Islamic State looming at any corner of the planet and Iran being months from having the bomb, we can only expect a 2016 even more volatile than 2015. Yet, in spite of all this, God remains in control because: “He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep” (Psalm 121:4.)